Happy New Year! 2023 has been quite eventful, filled with so many good memories with good people. I feel so lucky, so grateful. We are expecting our first child in a matter of weeks, and no better time to reflect everything that’s happened.
January
Bonita was recovering from her osteoma surgery, and we spent the New Year in Orange County with my family.
February
I developed a new hobby in landscaping and gardening. We converted our front yard into drought tolerant landscaping (full details here). The ample rain made it easy to dig and plant new California native plants.
One weekend was spent in Sacramento playing tennis. We were supposed to be playing men’s 7.5 and 8.5 combo sectionals, but half the time was spent in the casino because of all the rain. We were the eventual 7.5 combo champions, and our 8.5 team was undefeated in six matches.
March
March was quite the busy month. One week was spent in Indian Wells watching incredible matches from morning to midnight.
Less than a week later, I flew down to San Diego for Tri Level Nationals. We ate Phil’s BBQ, drank boba, and enjoyed the SoCal weather. The team ended up 5th in the country, a repeat of 2021.
The following weekend, Bonita flew to Scottsdale for her sister’s bachelorette party. My in-law took me out to play golf for the very first time. We played at the Bay View Golf Club where I lost at least 30 balls over 18 holes.
April
We vacationed to Taiwan in what I opine to be the best time of the year to visit. Our parents joined us, and we experienced much of the country together. It was Bonita’s first time. Growing up poor, my mom never visited most of the places we went to, and it was an absolute joy seeing her reactions to her home country.
Once we returned to California, more tennis resumed, starting with organizing and hosting the annual SALA tournament.
The last week of the month was mixed sectionals. We ended up second place in 9.0.
Kim and Vanessa also got married, celebrating first with a traditional Cambodian wedding.
May
Kim and Vanessa’s “official” wedding took place in Berkeley. I could not have been happier and more proud of them, and so happy to be able to finally call Kim my (Taiwanese) brother.
June
We visited my family again, this time making it out to Disneyland. It had been at least 10 years for me, so Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was completely new to me. I still found solace in my childhood favorites in the jungle cruise, haunted mansion, and pirates. We skipped out on Indiana Jones and Thunder Mountain because Bonita was pregnant.
No trip to Orange County is complete without visiting my sister’s family and Puppy, the best dog in whole wide world. We met our nephew for the second time. He allowed me to put him into the car seat. I had to apologize to for bonking his head against the car.
A couple weeks later, we drove out to Santa Cruz for Bonita’s co-workers wedding.
July
I flew out to Austin to co-work with my manager. Every day was over 100 degrees, but we ate well and had a great time.
Back at home, I spent the entire month transforming a portion of the backyard into a patio for more outdoor living (full details here).
August
I had been somewhat training for a 5k Spartan race by doing push-ups and crunches. That moment led to 2.5 hours of mostly fun and some pain with John, Dave, and Jordan. We celebrated by eating at Fogo de Chão.
September
I participated in a Taiwanese tennis tournament, partnering with Allen in all my matches. Our team ended up winning.
Later that month, we sailed on a catamaran from Alameda to Angel Island for Lydia’s birthday. It was my first time on a sailboat since 2013.
We then flew off to Vancouver before Bonita entered the third trimester of pregnancy. We spent a week exploring British Columbia. The nature was breathtaking, among the most beautiful places I’ve seen.
October
Bonita took me to a Postal Service / Death Cab for Cutie concert at the Greek Theater. It was my first concert since 2017. I never listened to them back then, yet I enjoyed their music very much.
I enjoyed some more tennis, playing for Allen’s UC San Diego / UC Berkeley team in the Zijing Cup.
November
Visited Asheville, NC for a company team offsite. Having been at Truepic for over three years, it was my first time meeting most of the team since we are all remote.
I left the offsite one day early for our baby shower. My parents, Cindy, and Anne flew up and they met Bonita’s extended family for the first time. It was a wondrous occasion.
December
I officially completed my MBA at the Haas School of Business. I also built a side entrance into our backyard (full details here).
Hurjane planned a week-long series of events for Allen’s 30th birthday, and it was quite the fun playing tennis, playing Top Golf, eating dim sum, and doing an escape room with friends.
Unlike previous years where we visited Orange County, we spent holidays locally with the Lam family.
Onto 2024
Thank you all for making 2023 so enriching and special. Our baby is arriving soon, and we are so excited for this next chapter of our lives. Happy New Year!
Andy Cheng 